2020 Wk 26 - the last few weeks

I finished the centre panel of this crochet and planned to crochet borders around it top make it bigger, 

but I think I started with too many border stitches so it's becoming wiggly at the edges

So I asked my quality control assistant and she declared it finished - so there is a whole other ball of pinky orangy wool if anyone can think of a use for it

I bought a ball of very bright colour change wool and (because I am definitely running before I can walk) bullied both Tara and Lisa into starting me off on this spiral (A pattern?? What's that?)  I'm totally guessing where to do two stitches on one hole, and although I've got further than this its too lose on some places and too tight in others - Lisa is coming over today so I'll get her to help me again!

I had a fab care package from Plum a few weeks ago and very rudely didn't post it here: lovely goodies, thank you Plum xxx

The purple fabric was immediately put to good use to eek out the purple I had, to make two sets of bunting for two sisters

Finally the last of the posted quilts has arrived at its destination!  Hello Theia - I hope you like it!!!

The Facebook Hexi swap has started up again, so we are swapping the back log: lovely to be getting hexies in the post - I have quite a stack of them so need to start thinking about what to do with them!

I've been doing some organising: felt scraps into baskets by size so I can have a chance of using up the smallest bits rather than keep cutting into large sheets

And the ribbons got sorted too (there are two card disks and a key ring split ring between each spool of ribbon so as I pull one only that one moves!

And I have been sewing squares together!  The corners where the blocks meet are thicker than they should be - I'm not too great at trimming away excess fabric, and I'm cross with myself for not making another ten blocks to even up the pattern, but there isn't enough of that black left and I've fallen out of love with it so it can be finished and then go to Project Linus

Hope you are all keeping safe xxx

2018 Wk 20 A finish and a visit

I have finished a Chemo quilt that Niki requested for a colleague at work.  There is a LOT of white at the moment but she is taking it to work with a handful of fabric pens so that people can write in the white squares - I'll hopefully be able to post another pic when it's been  decorated!

We had our monthly (!!!) Days For Girls meeting this weekend.  We were aware that some ladies were being put off by the high quality expectations from the charity, so we added a new project - boomerang bags.  These can be made to roughly the suggested size, can be overlocked OR zigzagged, can be made of the donated fabrics we would otherwise have to reject as they aren't ok for D4G and are the simplest construction imaginable

We got one finished and several more are close to being finished.  We were going to give them away but decided we would sell them to people in the churches which would raise money for the D4G fabrics!

We also found we were spending loads for time each month sorting through and seeing what needs what doing next - so with the help of loads of zip lock bags we now have bags of items all at the same stage and we feel much more organised!

Mum and I went to see the poppies at last.  We missed them at the Tower on London, but two sections of the display are now doing a road trip and one is just a short drive from her at Fort Nelson, Royal Armouries Museum, near Portsmouth

They looked amazing!.

And Brian and I spend all of yesterday at the girls' house.  They had hired a sanding machine and wanted to do all the upstairs floors in the one weekend.  I wish I had filmed them using the machine.  It was an industrial one, and was stronger than them.  They switched it on at one end of the room, they then ran with it, trying to slow it down, and trying to turn it off in time that it would stop before it hit the opposite wall, then they would drag it back and repeat.  Dad showed them how to master the beast, and 12 hours (!) later the whole of upstairs has been sanded - despite all three bedrooms having the usual amount of furniture - much of the time was taken moving it from one room to another, do you remember these puzzles?

It was a bit like doing one of those, but worth it in the end.

Today they are varnishing - today I am staying at home!

Quick update

Jackie's lovely son Patrick assembled the cupboard we got in Dublin and she has moved 'stuff' in.

Bah, she gets all the fun!

(I spy an empty basket, I think I need to come and get you organised!!!)

too much on the work table

As I sit at the computer this is what I see to my left

from left to right ...

• blocks and fabric for Hilary's textured quilt
• stacks for block lotto
• rug mugs (from stacks which went wrong, to skinny quilt that I didn't like, to rug mugs)
• landscape hangings, possible for skinny quilt challenge
• Zebra drawstring bags half made
• Rugby trousers to be repaired
• Rugby logo to be digitised
• Christmas sack for Henry
• Pinwheel quiltlet, poss for skinny challenge
• church stoles to be restored
• pinks and green blocks
• Calendar quilt that I started 12 months ago

and that doesn't take into account the fabric on the shelf for a fruit quilt (6 yards) a quilt for our sitting room, (6 yards) a brown and pink cupcake quilt (3 yards) a yellow and orange quilt that has been started, and the layer cake I won from Stash manicure, as well as all the one-day-this-will-be-perfect fabrics and the half dozen flimsies that need to be backed and quilted.

Sigh

Mum I know your sewing area isn't like this - what about anyone else out there in blogland - come on Jackie - confess!

I got organised!

I went to put some scrap fabric in my scraps drawer - and couldn't fit any more in!  It's been full for quite a while so I've just left it a few inches open and shoved stuff in, so it all got creased, and finally refused to accept any more!

So I emptied out all this lot (yard stick included to show the size of the drawer!)

... ironed it all, and separated it into piles: little bits suitable for applique,

...bits which belonged in project bags (like these bits which will be ideal with the blue Stay At Home Robin)

and longish bits which could be cut into strips.

...  and big bits

 ...and nearly-enough-for-another-quilt-top bits!

I then cut all the longish bits into 2.5inch, 2 inch and whatever-was-left strips, which have been separated into three labeled drawers,

  and now the box looks like this :-)

and I'm very happy!!!

Blog Surfing (and drooling)

I spent a lazy hour in bed this morning Blog Surfing - bliss - almost as good as uninterrupted sewing (I vaguely remember being able to achieve that!)

Anyways, clicking from post to post landed me on Stash Manicure and I stopped, and gawped, and drooled, and had to add the info here!

To be this organised - and to have this much stash, (and there are more photos of more stuff too) must be heavenly.

So lets dream a little. Let's say I found oodles of money hidden in a drawer. I'm going to Birmingham on Friday to meet Jackie and have two days at NEC, I could spend said oodles of money on oodles and oodles of fabric. As I'm dreaming, I can buy (and struggle home with) all the stash that Jacquie (Tallgrass Prairie Studio) shows us here. But then Mrs Practical Sensible starts to whisper in my ear ... and I have to accept it would never be a good collection of fabrics, it would be a huge collection of UFOs. I'd still drool over someone else's stash, while tying to negotiate with USA over who had the bigger stash of UFOs and who therefore had the best claim to Area 57